With the growing recognition of esports as a competitive sport, Gamerji, a platform dedicated to fostering esports talent, is at the forefront of the movement. In an exclusive interview with InsideSport, founder Soham Thacker shares his vision for the future of esports and how Gamerji is preparing athletes for the Olympic stage.
How do you believe the inclusion of esports in the Olympics will impact the perception of competitive gaming globally?
Including esports in Olympics has brought a lot of credibility to esports is the general view. But Olympics and esports are at a stage where they need each other for growth and recognition respectively. Olympics has the support and respect of older generations and esports has a younger audience and the numbers. While gaming is respected as a profession and as a hobby among youngsters but parents fail to recognise that and are hesitant to take esports seriously hence disapproving of esports as a career.
With Olympics including esports, gaming will get that respect, recognition and awareness from older generations to support their younger generation in esports. Esports will give the views and interests from younger generations which is currently lacking in Olympics. This will hopefully bring awareness about the difference in esports and real money gaming not just to the people but to the government as well to bring out proper regulations, facilities, training centres and taxation rules for the growth of the esports industry in the country.
How can Gamerji contribute to the development of esports as a recognized and respected competitive sport, particularly in the context of the Olympic Games?
It has been a challenge to raise awareness and gain acceptance for esports. There is a significant entry barrier for amateurs and casual players to fully immerse themselves in the esports world, as it requires expensive gaming equipment. Gamerji addresses this by enabling players to practise like pros without the need to invest in costly equipment, such as gaming computers. It acts as a bridge that brings more players into the esports space by making it accessible to all aspiring gamers. The platform is available on both PC and smartphone apps that allows access even to those who can’t afford high-end tech products.
Gamerji provides a space for players to train and grow their skills. Through partnerships with telecom companies and other industries for cloud gaming, Gamerji aims to break down more barriers, making esports more accessible to everyone. It’s always difficult to gain entry into such a niche sector that is only beginning to go mainstream. Players need not only skill but also good contacts, which they can develop on platforms like ours, where both amateurs and pros participate in tournaments for practice.
How do you see Gamerji’s role in preparing esports athletes for potential Olympic competition?
The Olympics are just one part of the future for esports. The future is bright, with more competitions opening up globally, creating new business opportunities and financial rewards for players. Esports will continue to grow, bringing greater recognition and fame to both professional and aspiring players. Gamerji will continue to support this growth by offering key features:
- Daily, end-to-end automated tournaments on popular games like Call of Duty (COD), Free Fire, PUBG, and Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI) to improve skill set and win cash prizes along the way.
- Real-time skill analysis allows players to learn from their stats, gain insights, and receive personalised tips to improve their gaming skill.
- AI-driven coaching offers tailored improvement plans for each player allowing a beginner to go pro with enough practice on the platform
- Hosting gaming tournaments to engage with one’s own community
So far, players have participated in over 120,000 matches, competed in more than 10 million leagues, and won an impressive 100 million in prizes. Throughout this, Gamerji connects players to a broader community, offering them recognition, valuable contacts, and the chance to earn money—all while refining their skills through constant practice.
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How does Gamerji plan to collaborate with other esports organisations and governing bodies to ensure a unified approach to the development of the sport?
As the platform created for esports players, Gamerji is always open to collaborate with different industries, gaming companies and government bodies to make esports accessible to all and are actively collaborating locally and internationally with different industries. Gamerji is open to bringing indie games, developed by smaller, more agile studios to the platform. Apart from fostering talent by reaching out to different gaming companies and industries, Gamerji as an organisation has been very vocal about bringing rules and regulations for building a proper ecosystem with the help of the government.
Be it for differentiation between real money gaming and esports in terms of awareness and laws, GST regulations and govt facilities for fostering esports talents. I think right now, every esports company in India has the same goal, to bring proper tax regulations in the industry so that companies can finance development without any hindrance.
How might inclusion in Olympics influence the growth and popularity of esports in emerging markets?
As mentioned earlier, esports needs olympics as much as olympics needs esports for recognition and development. The future of sports after this can see, positive impact in terms of respect for players, business investments, sponsorship for tournaments and with this it will open up new avenues for income generation. Esports is also seeing a parallel increase of AI usage. These two developments together can bring in new audiences.
